A white bride who arrived at her wedding reception with her white groom on a leash has divided opinion on TikTok after a video of him crawling on all fours, pretending to be a dog, went viral,
Tra Alexander and his wife, from Gallatin, Tennessee, tied the knot in early April in a ceremony attended by family and friends, and at the reception the groom was seen performing a quirky routine to the sound of George Clinton’s Atomic Dog.
Many were quick to slam the couple’s entrance, calling it ‘racist and bizarre’.
But speaking to the Daily Dot, Alexander explained the song was an inside joke he shared with his siblings, and that the leash was a nod to the fact that his wife had ‘finally got him’ after six years of dating.
An US-based couple raised eyebrow on TikTok after a video from their wedding reception showing the groom on a leash resurfaced
In the clip, which was watched more than 482,000 times on the social media platform, Alexander and his bride were shown arriving at their wedding reception.
The bride was holding a leash tied to Alexander’s neck, and the groom quickly got down to the floor, where he began to act like a canine.
The bizarre scene showed Alexander strutting on the floor, rubbing himself against his bride and miming urinating on her like a male dog would.
Meanwhile, his wife twirled around him repeatedly, something gently yanking the leash to direct him around the room.
In the video, the bride holds the leash by the groom gets on all four and mimics a dog dancing and sniffing around
Family members could be heard cheering the couple on and dancing enthusiastically around them.
And a boy in a cream suit and a cowboy hat would be seen walking around the couple smiling.
While everyone in the video seemed to be having a great time, viewers were struck by the bizarre video and suggested there was racist undertones to the relationship between the white woman and her black husband.
‘I’m so glad I don’t know anyone that thinks this is okay,’ one person said.
The groom later explained the choreography was a nod to his father, who used to dance to Atomic Dog this way
The bride could be seen twirling around the groom, holding the leash as guests cheered them on in the bizarre video clip
‘I can’t believe all those sisters in there cheering him on,; another wrote.
‘This so just doesn’t sit well,’ another wrote.
‘I do not like this and I don’t see the humor at all,’ one said.
Many also were not impressed with the fact children were present at the reception during the dance.
‘This would have been the PERFECT time to say “no children at the reception”,’ one said.
‘In front of the kid,’ another said.
But speaking about the video to the Daily Dot, Alexander explained the dance was actually a homage to his father, who loves the song Atomic Dog.
‘[My dad] made his own dance for it [a] long time ago. And ever since, it’s been passed down to my oldest sister and then me,’ he said.
And the decision to put him on a leash was a joke, referring to the fact his wife had finally gotten him after six years of dating.
‘It was showing that she finally got me,” Alexander explained. ‘There was nothing like “Oh, well that’s my slave owner”.’
The clip was condemned on TikTok, where people said the leash did not sit well with them